News and Views

  The Association for Consumer Rights (ACR) during the AGM 2020 approved a Resolution on Addressing the needs of consumers and vulnerable groups in the transition to a digital society Justification/reasons and current situations to be addressed Malta has been developing a Digital Agenda for a number of years; however, so far measures are…

Years ago doctors were mainly concerned about vitamin D deficiency in children. Foods were fortified with vitamin D to prevent the bone disease called rickets. Now we know that rickets was only the tip of the iceberg and that seniors are also at high risk for vitamin D deficiency. According to a recent study…

Car park attendants have returned to the headlines after members of the public wrote on Facebook to complain that the public car park at The Strand, Sliema, has been hogged by an attendant demanding a specified amount of money for the luxury of parking in this public car park. The Association for Conasumer Rights, Malta…

In these extraordinary times brought by the global coronavirus emergency, the Maltese Association for Consumer Rights (ACR) calls on the Maltese authorities to take the additional urgent action needed to safeguard the health of Malta’s people. Prevention is better than cure.  Towards this end, the ACR urges the Maltese government to suspend flights from…

In these extraordinary times brought by the global coronavirus emergency, the Maltese Association for Consumer Rights (ACR) calls on the Maltese authorities to take the additional urgent action needed to safeguard the health of Malta’s people. Prevention is better than cure.  Towards this end, the ACR urges the Maltese government to suspend flights from…

Standards, such as EN 71-1 (safety of toys) and EN 62115 (safety of electric toys), provide manufacturers with instructions for the construction of toys and how certain aspects can be met. Standards also provide consumers with confidence that a toy will be safe if it complies with their requirements. In order to guarantee the safety…

Sustainable development must be at the heart of the future of Europe. If we want to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030, we need to act now. The time for reflection is over, urges the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) in its recent opinion on the Commission’s Reflection Paper “Towards a Sustainable…

The use of e-cigarettes spreads rapidly. The EU “Scientific Committee on Health, Environmental and Emerging Risks (SCHEER) identified e-cigarettes as one of the “emerging health and environmental issues” in 2018. By contrast, the regulatory framework is not fit for the purpose and is hardly in the position to protect users (“vapers”). The EU Tobacco…

Why it matters to consumers Consumers are increasingly using connected devices in their daily lives. Already today, Europeans can remotely switch on the lights in their house, turn on their washing machine or open their door lock with their smartphone. This ongoing digitalisation requires that consumers’ devices are protected against cyberattacks. While the number…